On This Page: Mobile Website Design | Purpose of Mobile Websites | Mobile vs. App | Your Mobile Website
The demand is unprecedented and the mobile website market is set to explode.
Mobile Website Development
Many major brands and retailers entered the mobile web market over the past couple of years. Many still have not. In regards to the SOHO-SME markets that Falcon Innovation Group services on a daily basis, the vast majority are just becoming aware of the role mobile web is about to play in their lives. They are just in the process of creating their mobile web strategies.
Mobile website development can be as simple as taking your current site and seeing how it performs on modern smart phones like Blackberry, iPhone and Android devices. However to be trule mobile, the host server should be detecting that it is a mobile device and be serving up a version of your website that is optimized for the purpose.
The Purpose of Mobile Sites
While there are undoubtedly a few users out there who surf on mobile devices extensively (like train commuters) however most people use mobile websites for quick access to a phone number, business hours or a directional map. This should be the bare minimum of a mobile site with the addition of some service and historical information forms a nicely rounded small business mobile experience - for now.
Mobile Websites vs. "Apps"
A mobile website is just that, a version of your website residing on the same server (usually) as the full website. When a browser identifying itself as a mobile version (such as Blackberry Browser, or Safari Mobile) then a different page is served that is optimized for mobile devices. Another popular detection method is also to detect by screen size, however this can pose issues as new generations of phones have higher and higher pixel density. The Blackberry Bold 9900 has the same pixel resolution as desktop monitors had in 2004!
By comparisson, an "App" is a piece of software written for a particular operating system on a particular mobile device. Apple led the way with Apps on their iPod and iPhone devices several years ago, however there are now Apps for Blackberry and Android mobile hardware as well. Apps are not cross-platform compatible like mobile websites are. Apps generally do offer advanced or specific functionality such as mortgage rate calculators or games. If you are looking for App development, we can help guide you to those who specialize in them.
Your Mobile Site
Falcon Innovation Group has expanded its standard custom web design service packages to include a basic mobile website at no additional charge. This simple site includes the following at no additional fee:
- brand logo
- mobile version of the main website look
- clickable phone number button
- address and Google Map Link
- GPS Link (or coordinates)
- Store or Office Hours (where applicable)
- Key email contact(s)
- testing on iPhone 4s, ipad and Blackberry 9900 hardware
- soft-testing on Android powered devices
Add a mobile version with the above components to your existing website with server-level detection (Apache based server) is only $349.00 plus HST.
To request more information, contact Falcon Innovation Group at 1-866-570-5344.
